Swim

Approx 400 swimmers in a single deep water start. The 'start line' was supposedly between an orange marker buoy and the harbour wall. I entered the water near the back of the pack (I thought we'd be entering the water a different way and had been hoping to be in early). It was cold and took a minute or two to get used to the cold. I pulled my neck open a bit to let the cold water get in quick rather then dribbling in so it migh warm up quicker. I had my watch under the swim cap and put my goggles on top. I cleaned them out while treading water and put them on. I swam a quick 5 strokes or so with head fully under and everything seemed fine. 

I positioned myself near what looked like the front of the pack, but in hindsight I was too close to the wall, I should have been much closer to the marker buoy as the line down to the turn around point would have been shorted then. The race director counted down from 10, but at about '6' several people were already beginning to swim, so by the time the race started I was not so close to the front anymore. 

It was mayhem from the start. As soon as I started swimming I was hitting and being hit by other swimmers. Worse, after a couple of strokes I realised my right goggle was leaking. I hoped it wasnt too bad and kept swimming, but about half way to the turn-around buoy I had to stop, tread water and lift the goggle off to drain it then reset it properly. When I set off again I was back in the crowd and it was all arms and legs, so I did a couple of breast stroke to have a look and see if there was any clear water... there wasn't. My breathing was a mess by now so I just breathed on my right hand side as I sighted on every breath for the marker buoy. Going around the buoy was very busy, so after I was around I headed off to the right slightly to finally try to get some open water. It worked, and I got back to a steady rythm breathing alternately, The swim back in was OK after that, but I could see there were lots of people ahead of me which was a bit demoralising after doing so well at the Cosemeston swim.

t1

I kept swimming until my hands were touching the slipway and then stood up and started running up the slipway. Several people ahead of me were only walking by then so I ran past quite a few as I pulled the zip down and got my arms out. I had the wetsuit down to my waist before even getting to the bike racks, and t1 was laid out so I had to run all the way up one side of the bike racks before turning and running most of the way back down to my bike. It was based on a car park and the rough tarmac was pretty painful on my feet, other people too were running quite daintly. I got my cap and goggles off, and got my watch from the cap and had it on my wrist with no bother, and in plenty of time before getting to my bike. I dropped the goggles and got the rest of the wetsuit off - still not very fast but for the first time I didnt sit down. Helmet on, glasses on, shoes on (feet were covered with small grit so I brushed it off quickly) , got the bike and ran off to the mount line

Bike

I ran the bike to the mount line and got on, but as usual wasted several seconds getting clipped in (while barely moving). After that though U was flying! I must have overtaken 10 or more people on the flat road before the first major climb - they just seemed to be dawdling along. The first hill was tough, but I knew I was ahead of my previous ride (duathlon in March) according to the Edge 305, so I kept at it. At the top of the hill we were riding directly into the wind (at least thats how it felt) and my pace wasnt so great. I used the new aero bars but the wind was very strong and I didnt feel too confident, so down the big fast (40mph if I'd dared) hill I went back to the drops and kept it steady. 

I knew the short and very steep hill was soon, and then I hit it. Only 1 rider had overtaken me so far, and now I could see 3 or 4 more on the same hill (I never caught them in the end) but the hill was hard (my back wheel was wheel slipping as I stood out of the saddle, on the wet road). After the hill it flattens out and I made some great speed at time, often riding at 30mph. Out onto the moorland it was windy, and the occasional downpour really stumg bare flesh. I had to slow down a lot at one point to let some wild horses cross the road - they weren't going to wait for me! After that it was more riding in the wind and rain, and I finally overtook 1 rider, before we rejoined the shorter loop and then there was a lot of slower riders. The wind was behind me for a while then and again I flew along, always working hard but not killing myself.

I had one gel after maybe 10  mins on the bike (sellotaped to the top bar of tyhe bike, at both ends of the gel, worked very well) and then another after maybe 40 minutes. I had 3 or 4 drinks of water but my bottle was pretty much full when I'd finished - I must drink more!

As I got back to t2 I dismounted well and ran the bike to the racks, no problems

t2

I racked the bike, quickly changed shoes, helmet off and I ran off. Got held up very slightly by a runner in front of me but quickly got past them. Couldnt really have done t2 much quicker?

Run

Straight into a strong wind at the start, which I thought would make for a slow time, but after aybe half a mile the wind dropped off and my pace was sub 7 so I was happy. After passing the super sprint run turnaround point (1.5 kms) I knew anyone running the other way was ahead of me. I counted at least 13 runners, so though I just might be 14th (other runners may have already been way ahead?) but somehow my official position was 10th - did some of the super sprint entries run the full distance run? The half way turn around point was a long time coming, and I was getting tired, but as I turned I saw there were several runners quite close behind me. I think I tried a little harder than. 1 person overtook me in the whole run, and I think I overtook 1 other. The last mile was tough, but the wind really helped then, and my 5km time is the fastest I've done in an event yet.

Overall I was dissapointed with the swim (leaking goggles, bad breathing), could easily have been a minute quicker, but the bike was probably as fast as I could go. The run could have been a little quicker I think, looking back now...